Power 100 Re-cap

For a talent recruitment video for GE’s new U.S. Global Operations Center, the company asked some employees joining the new unit what they thought about Cincinnati.

Jeff Caywood, external affairs and communications leader for the new facility at The Banks that is expected to employ 2,000, says one mid-career employee responded: “I don’t know what I think about Cincinnati.”

“That struck me. What is our story for people who’ve never been here? They don’t know what Cincinnati is all about,” says Caywood, one of the panelists at the annual Power 100 Leadership Forum presented by Cincy Magazine and the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati.

Defining the region’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities to attract, retain and develop talent was the theme of this year’s breakfast forum attended by several hundred community leaders at the Hilton Netherland Plaza’s Hall of Mirrors. Moderator David M. Szymanski, dean of the Lindner College of Business, led the panel.

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber has made expanding the region’s talent base one of the pillars of its new strategic plan, panelist Jill Meyer, chamber president and CEO, told the forum.

“The reason we’re devoting so much time and energy to that is that you all have told us clearly that the single biggest challenge to business is finding the talent you need. Some of that talent can be homegrown [but] some we still need to recruit to bring into the region,” she told the audience.

Source Cincinnati, a multi-year marketing effort by the chamber, the convention and visitor’s bureau and others, has already had dramatic success building Cincinnati’s image as a world-class Midwestern city, she says.

“One feedback we get often is: There’s something good happening here. When people get it, they’re sold and they aren’t going anywhere,” she says.

“Our challenge and greatest opportunity is how to extend that open arm to a more diverse base of the population because as the world becomes more global and our businesses are more global, we need our population and in particular our workforce to better reflect what the world population looks like.”

Panelist Geoffrey Mearns, president of Northern Kentucky University, says local higher education institutions on both sides of the Ohio River are discussing how they can better coordinate their academic programs to make the region a national education destination.

“If we can compete a little bit less and collaborate more, that would be extremely attractive to talent not just in the region but all across the country and perhaps around the world,” he says.

At the same time, he says, local colleges can play a role in the region’s talent marketing efforts. Two of his own children paid a college visit to Washington University in St. Louis, Mearns says.

“They got a typical college brochure with beautiful pictures, but it had nothing to do with Washington University, it was selling students on St. Louis,” he says. Local colleges are working with the chamber on better ways to market the region, he says.

The fourth panelist Jeff Berding, president and general manager of the new FC Cincinnati professional soccer team, says it’s important for a community to have a cosmopolitan feel to attract talent.

“It says the city has the ability to embrace multi-cultural trends. That it is progressive. That it is a city on the move, and that’s welcoming to talent. That’s a critical feature as people size up: ‘Where do I want to live?’” he says.

Sports have an important role to play, he says.

“One of the critical advantages of sports is that it puts the city on the map,” he says. It’s something the community can rally around and it’s an opportunity to show what it has to offer to a wider audience.

A decade ago soccer wasn’t on most Americans’ radar, but Berding says that’s changed dramatically in the last five years “fueled by millennials who see soccer as a sport that fits their lifestyle.”

A professional soccer team can be one more selling point for talent attraction and retention. “Soccer can be one more jewel in Cincinnati’s crown,” he says.

Caywood says GE looks beyond traditional things such as restaurants, services, entertainment and other amenities when measuring a community’s potential to attract talent.

“From the GE perspective, and the employee perspective, we look at two specific areas,” he says. “Does the employee have opportunities to grow [in a community] whether through their career in the business or contributing to the local community?”

Secondly, he says, “Does the individual feel their experience, background and perspective are appreciated? Do they feel there’s a diversity of ideas? And do they feel the community is well represented from a race and gender perspective?”

To attract and retain talent, Myers says it’s important people see Cincinnati as a place where they can make a difference. That’s particularly important to attracting the highly sought-after millennial age group.

“The job and the place are important,” Meyers says, “but at the end of the day they want to move the needle for something they feel is important.”

Sponsor profiles

A Columbus-based accounting firm and consultancy with more than 165 associates in five offices in four states, GBQ expanded its presence in Cincinnati earlier this year when it acquired the firm of Ernst & Rabe, one of the city’s top 25 accounting firms located in Linwood. GBQ says its size allows it to serve the most complex organizations while its independence allows it to keep decision making in one place. gbq.com

The law firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP has a rich history dating to 1885. Its partners have included former U.S. Senator Robert A. Taft and former Cincinnati Mayor Charles Taft II, both sons of former President William Howard Taft. Through a series of successful mergers, Taft has become a premier regional firm with more than 400 attorneys in eight midwestern cities and Phoenix, Ariz.

Taft is ranked as one of the “Best Law Firms” of 2016 by U.S. News Media Group. In addition, 162 Taft attorneys are ranked in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America. taftlaw.com

Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell is a Bernie Moreno Company that opened in 2013 and is Northern Kentucky’s first Mercedes dealership. It offers both new and used Mercedes’ vehicles to fit any budget. Its service and parts department offers online scheduling and the Bernie Moreno Companies App. The comfortable waiting area features complimentary food and drinks. mbfm.com

A Federal Aviation Administration-certified public charter provider, Ultimate Air provides shuttle service with 30 passenger jets to New York City (via Morristown, N.J.), Chicago (via Midway Airport), Charlotte (via Charlotte Douglas Airport) and Cleveland (via Burke Lakefront Airport). Cleveland and Charlotte are serviced from Lunken Airport, while Chicago and New York City are serviced from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. ultimateairshuttle.com

Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza

Located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, the hotel is a National Historic Landmark and one of the finest examples of French Art Deco. It offers more than 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space including three ballrooms and 28 flexible rooms. Orchids at Palm Court is the hotel’s AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Four Star fine dining restaurant. cincinnatinetherlandplaza.hilton.com

One of the nation’s largest chambers of commerce, the chamber provides services to 4,000 members across 15 Tristate counties. Its mission is to leverage the potential of the business community to create regional economic prosperity. The chamber serves its members and the community through leadership and professional development programs, government advocacy, festivals and events, regional vision and collaboration, money-saving benefit programs, networking opportunities and educational programs. cincinnatichamber.com

Nonprofit Beneficiary

DePaul Cristo Rey High School is the 24th school in the Cristo Rey Network that provides quality Catholic, college-preparatory education to students in urban communities with limited educational options. It uses a rigorous academic model supported by effective instruction to prep students for college. depaulcristorey.org